Clare and Gilbert Valleys

Awake to a damp morning, a little rain overnight, it appears. Jen suggested a bit of homemade breakfast to reduce our trek supplies as we were nearing our destination, Adelaide. Excitement in the air as by pre-arrangement we are to meet our good friend Darryl here in Clare today.

Jen did some clever rearranging of our packaging before loading the truck under cloudy skies and the coldest morning so far on this trip. After a trip to the servo to check the trucks' vitals, we b-lined it to the Wineries Information Centre. On the way we passed, Darryl, who was heading to the Motel. A quick call to turn him around, and we caught up at the Info Centre.

A cuppa and a chat in this very stylish and friendly, professionally staffed centre we set off to check out the local wineries. First stop, Shut The Gate. A warm, cosy place. As we commenced our first wine tasting, the rains came down. The cosiness, the catch-up chat, the friendly banter with our host, we were there a bit longer than we thought (there's an awful lot of wineries in the Clare Valley). Take away selections made (2) we headed off to the next port of call (pardon the pun), The Sevenhill, the first, and the oldest winery in the Valley. This is a winery built and operated by Jesuits. There is a beautiful old church on the property. The main entry into the tasting room was through the upstairs (modern) cellar full of vats.

After the tasting (and 2 more bottles), it was time to exit through the museum and the old downstairs cellar, out into the pouring rain where the purchases were stowed safely with the others in the recently cleared out esky/chillybin (ah ha! Jen had a plan when rearranging our packing...lol).

Next stop, the Red Grape. Not a vineyard, but an award-winning bakery (2022 Australian sausage roll of the year), for some food as we were in danger of over-imbibing on an empty stomach. Satiated, we ventured to our next stop, Claymore Wines, where their products are named after the owners' favourite song titles. Another bottle, and it was outback journey time to locate a winery which is most popular for its gin, The Sawmill. It's a little bit harder to find this one, eh! Jen.

The owner/distiller gave us a fantastic insight into gin. Its qualities and uses, how to mix and why, including tastings. A whole new perspective was obtained with the obligatory purchases. We kept this place open until after closing time.

The Clare Valley needs more exploration. The place is full of bike and hike trails, the Reisling Trail and the Rail Trail, the main two, plus so many more wineries and other historical attractions.

So, it was off southwards to Adelaide. About 1 hour, 50 minutes later, we arrived at Darryl's abode at Port Noarlunga, which is about 35 minutes south of the city on the shores of the Gulf of St. Vincent.Read more